At Ludovika University, experts including former Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi and former US Assistant Secretary Philip T Reeker discussed the present and future of US–Hungary relations. Topics included strong historical ties, NATO cooperation, economic partnerships, and shared values. Panels also addressed investment, the war in Ukraine, and cultural exchange programmes.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed claims that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a Russian ‘Trojan horse’ in the EU, calling the accusations ‘nonsense’ and ‘absurd’ in an interview with opposition channel Partizán. She stressed Orbán has always pursued Hungary’s interests, often clashing with Brussels but also seeking compromise.
‘She had a huge belief in the sense of independence…which your Prime Minister has as well: national identity, determination to secure your borders, and the right to govern yourselves. You have a dilemma, which is the one that she had at the time before she left Parliament—she was in a European community, just as your Prime Minister is now in a European Union.’
‘In recent years, the European Union has been seeking the glamour of international politics. It wants to behave like a great power, while its vocation should be to organize close cooperation between sovereign states. It wants to wage war when its mission is to bring peace. Under the current leadership, it has abandoned its mission as set forth by the Founding Fathers, and this could cost it its existence.’
Hungary cannot be circumvented with legal manoeuvres to open Ukraine’s EU accession process, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Copenhagen ahead of an informal EU summit, insisting any enlargement must follow the same rules and warning that fast-tracking Kyiv risks drawing the EU into war and draining funds.
‘The overall impact of the UAE’s influence in the Western Balkans is indeed multifaceted—its advances and economic involvement in the region have also not been without controversy. Most notably high-level infrastructure projects…prompted transparency concerns, while also challenging compliance with EU norms. Nevertheless, despite those issues…the UAE will likely remain active in the region.’
Hungary’s National Economy Ministry (NGM) criticized the European Commission and the opposition Tisza Party on Thursday, warning that proposed progressive tax hikes and subsidy cuts would endanger families, small businesses, and jobs.
Hungary is urging the EU to classify Antifa as a terrorist organization following the assassination of free speech activist Charlie Kirk. With past violent attacks in Budapest and controversial EP immunity for suspect Ilaria Salis, officials argue that Antifa poses a serious threat to public safety and that Brussels must align with US counterterrorism measures.
At an event at MCC Budapest, French author Xavier-Laurent Salvador spoke about the French academic publisher suspending the publication of his book Face à l’obscurantisme woke (In the Face of Woke Obscurantism). Rodrigo Ballester and Leonardo Orlando joined the discussion about the problems with progressivism in European academia.
‘While the EU promotes green energy…in every possible forum, EU bodies may keep Hungary in complete uncertainty for decades regarding the feasibility and conditions for implementing its investment in the transition to safe and clean energy.’